Rebirth 08: A Happy Life Begins in Elementary School

Chapter 111 A Girl's Thoughts...? (Bonus Chapter for Every 100 Increase in Average Subscriptions)

Computers from 08 were quite difficult to use.

It wasn't until a series of tedious tasks were initiated that the long-buried memories slowly resurfaced in Li Zhao's mind.

Li Zhao spent a long time just installing software from a CD.

It was something completely unfamiliar to Li Zhao, who had lived a few more years and was now working, yet he didn't understand it. It was something that was common knowledge for people who played with computers in this day and age.

The broadband installer worked for a long time, and then turned on a strange thing.

Dial-up connection.

The master set up a bunch of things on it, entered various numbers, and made various tests and phone calls. Every time Li Zhao thought it was almost done, he would open a new page or make a new phone call.

Li Zhao had forgotten how troublesome it was to get broadband installed back in the day.

"Okay, here's your account and password. Before you go online each time, open this network connection, and you can access the internet after connecting," the technician said proudly. "Sometimes it might be unstable, so try logging in a few more times. If it still doesn't work, call this number."

Li Zhao took the sticky note with a bewildered look and stuck it on the desk as instructed.

"Remember this well, it'll be a hassle if you forget it." The master continued to demonstrate his amazing wisdom, "I'll teach you. You can create a new .tt document on your desktop, save these account passwords directly, and then set a password for this .tt document. See—like this, that's all."

"How am I supposed to remember TT's password?"

""

"You can write it on paper."

"----OK."

So the master left satisfied.

2008年5月25日下午3点16分。

Li Zhao started using his own computer.

I got to use a computer a year earlier than in my previous life.

This is a very memorable time. The computer is a great help to Li Zhao now, and its existence is also a concentrated manifestation of the many successful changes he has made since his rebirth.

Interestingly, since his rebirth, Li Zhao has accomplished many things that he dared not even dream of in his previous life, such as winning first place in a national English competition and now having nearly 40 yuan in savings.

But what made him feel most unreal was the laptop in front of him.

The primary school cost eight thousand yuan. Li Changlin took him to buy it. Now that his parents are not at home, he can use it freely.

He was well aware that he had obtained his achievements and money by using his status as a reborn individual to achieve them through a dimensional advantage, but he could somewhat share this computer with his true self as a primary school student.

So, the first thing.

Li Zhao did not choose to log in to the "Linjiang Guancheng" blog, search for earthquake relief articles, or log in to the stock market.

He found the QQ number that Chen Nian had given him, which was hidden in the drawer.

In my previous life, I only got a computer in the second semester of my first year of junior high school. After registering for QQ, I only added two elementary school classmates, Chen Nian and He Shuyao. This time is different. Will I start coughing like crazy when I log in?

Chen Nian probably already sent his QQ number to the whole class.

Li Zhao entered his account and password, and felt a strange sense of excitement.

Thinking about it, it's been so many years since I've used QQ that it feels quite unfamiliar.

He's currently behaving much like a primary school student who has just gotten a computer and logged into QQ.

It's a case of misplaced substitution.

[Restarting online social interaction. Happiness +1, total 32]

Sure enough, as soon as I logged in, the computer emitted its classic coughing sound, but it was gone in an instant.

When Li Zhao opened the friend request, he found that there were only two.

One of them is naturally old, named "69"—what a terrible name.

The note read: I am Chen Nian. Simple and straightforward, nothing special.

The other one was extraordinary; Li Zhao was struck dumb when he saw the name: "Emperor Shuyao".

Seriously? Is this really not a prank from an old alt account?

Li Zhao remembered that He Shuyao's QQ name was always very fresh and elegant, and for a while it was extremely artistic, which he quite liked.

[? ? ? ]

Ah, that familiar, noisy "beep beep beep" notification sound.

Ah, this flashy chat box and the inexplicable QQ avatar next to it.

Are you at an internet cafe?

[Aren't you going to call me?]

[Cool (emoji)]

Li Zhao replied: [I bought a computer yesterday]

[!! Aren't you going to call me?]

[Will you pay for it for me?]

[Never mind then, here's the class group chat number, add me.]

Why is this kid acting all high and mighty even through the internet?

That makes sense, when does a person not have two faces, one online and one offline?

Look at Chen Nian's QQ avatar, all dressed in dazzling clothes. According to later accounts, his online persona was designed to be that of a rich young master, so being aloof was normal.

[Don't add it yet]

Why?

[Don't tell anyone yet, let's talk about it after the exam.]

[My brother Zhao still has the style.]

Li Zhao searched through the somewhat unfamiliar emoticons for a while before finally sending a "smiley face".

Chen Nian was completely confused.

[Is this Shuyao's QQ number?] Li Zhao copied the QQ number and sent it over.

[Yes, she added you, right?]

It really is Emperor Shuyao?

[You said someone wanted my QQ number, were you referring to Shuyao?]

[No, there are so many people who want it, they're too embarrassed to ask you, they all come to me.]

[You only told Shuyao?]

[yes]

It's perfectly reasonable and justified.

[That's amazing, I can actually see you logged into QQ. Have your parents stopped caring about you?]

[Number one in the country doesn't need to be managed]

[886]

Then this guy actually set his status to "busy" and went to play games.

He Shuyao's profile picture was still grayed out. When Li Zhao clicked on it, he found that it was a chibi-style portrait of a female knight-errant.

"Empress Shuyao—" Li Zhao murmured, a smile on his lips, and clicked into He Shuyao's QQ space.

Completely locked.

Access requires answering questions.

What's your favorite thing?

Li Zhao actually knew the answer to the question, and it wasn't easy for him to find out. He Shuyao wouldn't tell him when they were in junior high, but it wasn't until they were classmates again in high school that one day, when she was holding some snacks and asking Li Zhao if he wanted some, she accidentally said, "These are my favorite snacks."

Pocky. A type of long, thin biscuit available in many flavors.

Then Li Zhao cracked her QQ space barrier, but there wasn't much inside, just some literary articles and scattered musings.

The photo album was also locked. The question was "What do you like best?" Li Zhao tried "Pocky" once, but it didn't work, so he didn't try again.

At the time, Li Zhao thought that He Shuyao was in the same class as him and saw him every day, so why was it necessary to look at the photos?

Later, that password became a deep-seated regret in Li Zhao's heart.

Li Zhao entered "Baiqi", but the password was incorrect.

error?

That makes sense—after all, when Li Zhao and He Shuyao were together, her QQ name was clearly artsy and literary, not some kind of "Emperor".

People change.

Then—Li Zhao became even more interested in the contents of the space at this moment.

Could it be that the chuunibyou girl he knew was actually a more mature version?

We're going to dig for treasure; we'll have to dig really deep.

"Fried tofu" is incorrect.

"True Knowledge Stick" is incorrect.

"Pork floss bread", page refreshed.

Li Zhao smiled knowingly; it was indeed his favorite at this stage.

The space has few visitors and is not decorated much. It uses a very cool theme, which fits the "Emperor" persona.

Her QQ signature was empty; it turned out she had posted a string of spaces followed by a period.

Uh ———— A classic example of something inexplicable.

There are many signatures, and quite a few memes have been extracted, such as "Live well, because we'll be dead for a long time," and "Don't try to out-lazy me, because I'm too lazy to compete with you."

There are also classic lines about emotions, such as, "Pain is an enjoyment that only the conscious can experience."

But most of their thoughts were simple and genuine: "I hope I can become even better," "Li Zhao is so amazing," "Xinwang's pork floss bread is just so delicious" —

Oh, it's normal to be impressed by Lee So's strength, right?

However, every now and then something would pop up that would leave Li Zhao dumbfounded: "Even the Emperor has something on his mind." It came from April 15th, the day He Shuyao was in a bad mood because her exam ranking had dropped, and Li Zhao chatted with her.

"Emperors are ultimately mortals; how can they be compared to gods?" This was the thought that lingered in He Shuyao's mind after learning that Li Zhao had won first place in English nationwide.

No, what about horoscopes? What about those non-mainstream quotes with all those sparkly characters? What about "girls' secrets"?

He Shuyao's space made Li Zhao feel confused; it looked like a boy's space.

And where did this emperor come from?

Suddenly, a poignant sentence caught my eye: "If I lose in this life, then I don't want the next."

This immediately silenced Li Zhaogan.

He Shuyao had only quoted the words from somewhere, but when Li Zhao saw them, he was immediately moved.

My thoughts are very complicated and tangled.

Li Zhao switched to He Shuyao's blog, which basically recorded her articles, including her methodology for happiness. Here, she completely transformed into an artsy young woman, with no trace of her former chuunibyou (adolescent delusions of grandeur).

Photo album — the same password, "What do you like best?"

"Pork floss bread" is incorrect.

Li Zhao didn't want to try again. After all, using information asymmetry to probe He Shuyao's thoughts still made him feel a little guilty. He'd just ask her for the answer honestly from her next time.

Li Zhao was about to log out of QQ Space when he suddenly realized something.

Damn it, there are visitor records in the space.

I forgot about this; I thought it was a post on WeChat Moments.

At the same time, he saw He Shuyao's profile picture light up.

But the expected chat message did not arrive.

After a while, Li Zhao was a little confused. He opened the chat box with He Shuyao and found that she had changed her profile picture and nickname.

She changed her female warrior avatar to a summery girl's back view, and her nickname was changed from "Emperor Shuyao" to "Yao".

The emperor has fallen, and a pure and innocent summer girl has arrived.

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